


Dress rehersal rag

by GreenPhoenix



Category: Homicide: Life on the Street, Oz (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 10:35:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2425586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenPhoenix/pseuds/GreenPhoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keller muses about the one that got away. A cop from Baltimore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dress rehersal rag

You can learn a lot by watching people. When their guard is down, the little things they do give away a lot. Keller learned that the hard way.  
When he was young it was what kept him sane. Mostly anyway.  
Learning how drunk his father was, and how angry he’d get when Chris did something he wasn’t supposed to.  
Occasionally he miscalculated and his father got a reason to take his belt off.  
His mother’s silent tears accompanied each trashing. She would slip him a dollar or two when his dad wasn’t watching.  
When he went to school it was what kept him out of harm’s way. Of course it worked when he got older too.   
He learned about his early girlfriends’ small vices and used it against them.  
Later, it was how he tested his wives. Bonnie’s insecurity was what made her take him back even after all his infidelities and drunken brawls in bars. He almost hurt her brother and she still forgave him.  
Bonnie’s brother knew he went with college boys, and he beat him to make sure he kept quiet. He never told Bonnie, only claimed he and Chris had a minor disagreement over something harmless. Ned hid his bruises, because he knew how strong Chris was and what he could do if he were provoked.

*  
After divorcing Bonnie he decided he needed a change of scenery. He went to Baltimore for some reason. There was a rich widow that he and Ronnie pulled a ponzi on. Safe investment they told her. Chris knew which buttons to push, giving the lonely woman his finest smile, which promised a lot.  
Occasionally he’d sleep with the mark, but this one he left to Ronnie. Ronnie wined and dined her and got her to give some money upfront.  
Later Ronnie huffed about being pimped out, but Chris shrugged and reminded Ronnie that he’d slept with a male investor with bad breath the last time.  
This time it was Ronnie’s turn to take one for the team.  
Chris headed to a bar called the Gay Nineties.  
*  
Inside he was looking to pick up a sweet thing, and have some fun with him.  
Maybe he’d even let him live if he was good.  
He met a tall, boyish looking man who was practically a virgin with men.  
He’d come out late in life, and now he was catching up. Chris told him the usual lies and half-truths and soon had him where he wanted him, sucking his dick with a bit more enthusiasm than cunning. It was still good.   
Keller fucked him after persuading him that this was an experience he really needed to have. At that point he learned his pickup was called Tim and that he had nightmares that made him cry out in his sleep.  
Chris could sympathize. He woke him up and blew him slowly and almost tenderly.  
Fuck, he couldn’t afford feelings. He’d just have fun with this one.

*  
He met Tim again, all worked up over something. Chris took him home and fucked him again.   
The sex was urgent, bruises left on fair skin, buttons nearly ripped off, strong hands grasping at each other. Afterwards a feeling of tenderness Keller couldn’t quite shake.   
He learned that Tim was a cop. Well that was risky.  
A cop. A fucking cop. Keller could laugh at it, but it wasn’t good. A cop who had nightmares that made him scream and trash. A sensitive guy. Maybe there was something to work with there. Issues. Deep seated traumas. Probably a bad childhood. Keller knew the scars that could leave first hand. Fuck. He could feel an unexpected pang of sympathy. What was he doing falling for a fucking boy in blue? Tim moaned unhappily in his sleep and Keller found himself pulling the sleeping man closer. Trying to soothe him. What was he doing?  
*

 

Keller learned enough about Tim soon enough. That he had only started dating men recently. That his first was also called Chris. That he had a partner he’d walk through fire for and almost did. Said partner had now left him after he’d taken a bullet for him. That his new partner was a sarcastic wiseass with a fondness for conspiracy theories. He loved cartoons and had a naïve view of good and evil. Boy scout, fair-haired choirboy.   
He’d dated two female colleagues and they’d both dumped him. Now he fancied a third, a pretty woman with a lovely face and no sense of self preservation apparently. Keller made a mental note to keep track of her. Renee Sheppard. Former beauty queen.

*  
Ronnie mentioned that they needed to close the deal. Chris agreed. They got the widow to leave them her money. Then they had to skip town.  
He’d miss his cop lover, but fuck that had been a huge risk to take. Tim had already asked too many questions about his way of making a living.

*  
Keller said a proper goodbye to Tim, surprised that he cared that much. It had never occurred to him to try and get rid of Tim. That was a first. Besides, the guy was volatile and likely to do something bad to himself any day.  
Chris felt badly for him, but he went back to New York.

*

He got back and somehow remarried Bonnie. Her brother gave him his usual pointed looks. Bonnie still loved him and that was good. Maybe the cop loved him too.  
He sent a postcard to him with some trite but friendly phrases, hoping to lift his sprits a little.  
It was odd, feeling a tad protective of someone.  
*  
Now he knew that his sealed heart had cracked open somehow when he met Tim. Bonnie softened him further, and of course Beecher happened. He was nothing like Tim, even if he also had nightmares and was needy. He wanted to protect and claim Toby all at once.  
Mark him with his scent so nobody else could get to him.  
He’d just learned that Tim was doing time in Jessup for killing a serial killer who got off on a pointless technicality. Fucking boy scout. No doubt he’d done it to protect future victims. He would have gotten away with it, managing to pull of a perfect murder. But his conscience had pushed him to confess. There was an article about it in some newspaper. Of course a cop killing someone was a big deal. Keller appreciated Tim’s ability to whack that guy, but couldn’t understand why he’d confess if he’d pulled it off seamlessly. That was like Toby, being able to go through with the kill, but having too much conscience to be able to live with having done it.  
Keller mused how strange it was that two people as different as them could both be in jail. Funny the things you don’t know people are capable of even if you watch them carefully.  
Keller sighed and proceeded to watch Toby talk to Said across the quad. Watching Toby was a fulltime job.   
Keller knew how long Toby would talk to Said, and when he’d got to work for Pete.  
He also knew exactly how long it would take to get Toby to suck him off even though he was mad about something. All it took was a little bit of patience.  
He had time after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt:Pairing/Character(s): Keller centric, but can include other characters  
> Keyword/Prompt Phrase: Prompt: "the one that got away." Maybe this is one of Keller's wives – maybe it's another man (dead or alive). Is this a pensive Keller pre or post Beecher reflecting on his past? Is it Keller pre-Oz, cocky and bulletproof?  
> Canon/AU/Either: Canon  
> Special Requests: I'm not squicked by much. I love psychological manipulation/mindfucks (probably what attracts me to Keller), but it doesn't have to go that way. It can even be humorous!  
> Story/Art/Either: Prefer a story, please; however, art is great too.


End file.
